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Wilfried MartensCentre forEuropean Studies

Hi, we are the the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, the official think tank of the European People’s Party. Through our work, we inspire ideas for action and shape responses to European challenges.

During testing times for Europe, we believe these challenges deserve the best of our intellectual efforts and that is why we aim to be a leading and innovative catalyst of centre-right ideas and thinking.

Mikulas DzurindaWMCES President

Our goals

Put forward new ideas and provide a forum where they can be debated

Have policy impact through concrete policy proposals

Shape European public opinion

Be the key platform of cooperation for centre-right partners and experts

Our strengths

Where we come from

Even if we are a young organisation (we were established in 2007), we share the same spirit as the European founding fathers. Just like Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman or Alcide De Gasperi, we envisage Europe as the biggest, most ambitious democratic project and want to make our contribution to it.

Through our work, the legacy of our founder, Wilfried Martens, European People Party’s long-standing President and former Prime Minister of Belgium lives on. He too was a visionary, yet pragmatic and responsible pro-European, as well as a freedom champion!

Where we are going

As a political think tank, we are a full part of the European policy-making ecosystem. Our mission is to offer decision makers and opinion leaders assistance in formulating new and effective policy options. These will help the European Union become a strong global player, a reliable transatlantic ally and a better democracy promoter.

What drives us forward? In the end, it all comes down to YOU!

We aim to influence and impact policy for the benefit of the European citizen. So go ahead, read our studies , take part in our events , participate in our campaigns. Come discuss, share and even challenge our ideas!

Our Members

Our Network

We function as a pan-European platform for our member foundations, think tanks and experts from all over Europe that share our values and those of our political family. Working closely with national partners allows us to bring the European debate where it matters the most: closer to the European public.

Executive Board

The members of the Executive Board draft the annual programme of the Centre based on agreed research priorities. They also ensure the legal representation and financial supervision of our activities, and steer the expansion of our network of member organisations.

Honorary board

The newly formed Honorary Board aims to reinforce the expertise of the Centre, not only for enhancing the think tank’s expert profile, but also in order to boost its intellectual capacity, enabling our experts to address the EU’s current and future challenges. The members of the board are all former prime ministers and former Heads of EU institutions belonging to the EPP family, with a successful track record of country and institutional reforms.

Academic Council

As esteemed academics and researchers, its members aim to increase the academic scope of the Centre and oversee the scientific standards of our research, studies and activities. They ensure that the Centre is always pursuing cutting-edge research, propose innovative projects and implement the highest standards of peer review.

Individual Members

They are politically like-minded senior level professionals active in European politics, European institutions and related organisations. They participate in the meetings of the General Assembly and offer their perspective on the overall strategy and goals of the Centre and how to attain them.